No Matter What
by A.L. Reynolds
Summary: Bo Duke and Becky Grant grew up as best friends in Hazzard County, and her brother became Luke's best friend. Through the good and the bad, the Grant and Duke children always remained close... especially Bo and Becky. Please r&r, both are appreciated. :
1. Chapter 1

NO MATTER WHAT

7/2/05

BY: A.L. REYNOLDS

Disclaimer: Well, I've kept forgetting to put a disclaimer on anything else I've submitted, but finally I remembered, although everyone knows there's no way I own The Dukes of Hazzard, none of its characters, cars, etc. The only people I own, as of right now, are the Grant family. I've been stewing on the idea of this story for awhile now, and I've made quite a few mental notes and adjustments for it before I started typing it out. So hopefully, it will be as enjoyable for you to read as it is for me to write. :) Now, on with the story.

CHAPTER ONE

1971

It was a warm, clear summer evening in the country. Two children played out on the lawn of a family-sized farmhouse nestled in the backwoods of Hazzard County, Georgia, laughing and shouting to eachother as they ran circles around great oaks and young, but strong maple trees.

One of the children, a boy of ten years with wheat blonde hair and eyes blue as the ocean, was chasing the other child. The other child was a girl of around the same age as the boy, with chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes, a fair dotting of freckles across the tops of her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

"Come on, Becky, give it up already, I'm gonna getcha before you get to base!" the littel boy, Bo Duke, puffed.

"Oh no you ain't, Bo, not if I've got anything to say about it! Quit whinin'!" Becky Grant replied with confidence.

The sun was setting and a taller boy a few years older than the other two children was walking back to the old farmhouse with a fishing pole in one hand and an aluminum bucket in another. He, Luke Duke, had dark, curly hair and clear blue eyes, almost as blue as Bo's eyes. He stopped for a moment and watched the two younger children playing their game of tag, shaking his head and chuckling. When would Bo ever learn that he would most likely never be able to catch that girl?

Becky made it to base which happened to be a large tireswing on the other side of the yard and turned to laugh triumphantly in Bo's direction, "Ha ha! See, I was right all along!"

"Oh shut up, Becky, you cheated, anyway," Bo replied, out of breath and leaning over with his hands on his knees.

"Cheated?" the older boy asked as he walked over, "How'd she cheat? All she did was run away from you."

"I dunno how, Luke, but somehow she did. Girls are good at doin' that," Bo replied with his eyes glaring competitively in her direction.

Luke sighed, then turned to Becky and winked, "Well guys, the sun's goin' down, hadn't you better be gettin' home, Becky?"

"Hey, I'm gonna go ask Uncle Jessie if you can stay for dinner!" Bo exclaimed, suddenly not mad at the girl anymore as he ran up to the old farmhouse.

Bo and Luke were cousins who were both orphaned after their parents died and came to stay with their Uncle Jessie and Aunt Eliza Duke, as well as their other cousin, Daisy Duke. She came along shortly after Luke's mother had brought Luke with her to live at the farm after Luke's father, Jessie's brother, had been killed in an accident. Luke's mother had died of cancer a couple of years before Bo came along, when Luke was only eight years old.

Eliza died just after Luke's tenth birthday, which broke Jessie's heart. Some said had it not been for having those children with him, he would have been a miserable man for the rest of his life. But Luke, Daisy, and Bo gave his heart joy and contenement, and before long his broken heart was on the mend, with three wonderful children to guide him.

Becky Grant's family moved out to Hazzard when she was seven, about a month after Eliza had passed away. They lived in a nice country home a little ways down the road from the Duke family, but close enough that the children could all walk or ride bikes over to eachothers' houses and play.

Becky climbed into the tireswing and pushed off, waiting for Bo to come back with Jessie's decision, while Luke came over behind her and absent mindedly pushed her.

"Didja catch any fish?" she asked Luke, indicating the fishing supplies he had laying where he had originally been standing.

"Oh yeah, two big ones," Luke replied, "that's prolly what we'll have for dinner tonight. Say, when's your brother coming back from camp?"

Becky's brother Nathan had become Luke's best friend ever since they had moved to Hazzard and had gone to summer camp for a few weeks. Jessie felt horrible that he didn't have enough money to send Luke along with him, but Luke took it like a man and understood. So now came waiting patiently for him to come home.

"He's only gonna be gone one more week, Luke," Becky replied, "and in his last letter, he said to tell you hi and he had lots of neat stories to tell you."

Luke smiled at being remembered by his friend, "Thanks, Becky Lynn," he ruffled her hair, which had earlier been pulled back into two neatly braided pigtails that had long since become loose and messy.

Becky shook her head out from under his hand, "Hey, quit it!"

Bo then came back and looked from his cousin to his own best friend with a wide grin, "Uncle Jessie says you can stay, so long's your folks don't mind!"

"Alright, I'll go ask 'em!" Becky exclaimed, jumping out of the swing and taking off down the driveway.

"Hey wait a minute, I'll come with you - be back in a few minutes, Luke!" Bo called over his shoulder. "Race ya to the mailbox!"

"You're on!" Becky met his challenge with determination in her youthful eyes.

Luke shook his head and chuckled again as he took his fishing pole and stuck it in the barn, then went to find Jessie and let him know about the fish he had caught.

"Ooh, those are some mighty fine fish, Luke," his Uncle Jessie said proudly, taking the bucket from his hands, "just let be go back here an' clean 'em so we can get 'em a-cookin'."

"Yessir - anything you want me to do?"

"Go find Daisy - she's somewhere 'round this farm, but I ain't seen her all day but maybe once or twice," Jessie requested, going to his task of cleaning the fish.

"Yessir."

Luke had a hunch as to where she might be; their cat Ginger had had a litter of kittens not too long ago and ever since she had found out, Daisy went up into the barn loft religiously to check on them and play with them.

When he got up into the barn loft, his hunch had proven correct. A little girl with wavy dark reddish brown hair and blue eyes was laying on her stomach, wiggling her finger out in front of one little calico kitten's nose and letting it playfully smack at it with its paw, while another started batting and biting at her hair.

Daisy looked up and grinned innocently at her cousin. She had just turned twelve that past fall, making her a little under a year younger than Luke.

"Uncle Jessie was beginnin' to wonder where you were," Luke said with only the slightest amount of sternness as he came over and sat acros from her, "I figured you'd be up here, though, y'ain't been nowhere BUT here for the past week and a half."

"Did I make him mad?" Daisy asked, a little worried.

"Naw, he just wondered if you were okay. He knew you was somewhere on the farm."

"Oh, okay," she giggled as one of the kittens climbed up Luke's knee, "aww, it likes you!"

Luke chuckled a little as he scratched the kitten behind the ear thoughtfully. Soon, he heard the yelling of what could only be Bo and Becky coming back from her house with an okay from her parents. She and her brother both spent so much time over at the Duke farm with them that he begun to think they had secretly been adopted by Uncle Jessie.

"Haha! Beatcha again!" Becky boasted with pride.

"You cheated again and you know it! Girls ain't supposed'ta beat boys!" Bo argued.

Luke and Daisy laughed at the two and went down the ladder; when Luke got in front of them, he put his hands on each of their shoulders, "Alright, guys, no one can cheat in a footrace unless you trip the other person or somethin'; now come on, let's git on inside before the bugs start bitin'."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

A couple of weeks later, Nathan was home and Luke was truly happy again; one afternoon when he and Nathan had just gotten back from trail-blazing on their bikes, they saw Bo and Becky playing with some of Bo's toy cars, acting out a police chase with a cop car and a ford thunderbird. On the other side of the yard, Enos Strate was on his bike carrying his newspaper sack on his back and talking to Daisy with a love-struck look in his eyes.

Nathan had dark blonde hair and green eyes with sun-tanned skin. He was the same age as Luke and thought it was the most amusing thing in the world that Becky and Bo were such good friends.

"Hey Beck, you never did tell me when the wedding was," he teased.

Becky stuck her tongue out at him, "There ain't gonna be no weddin'; Bo 'n I are gonna be outlaws when we grow up! Ain't we, Bo?"

"Yeah! We're gonna run from the cops and everything!" Bo replied with a mischevious grin.

"Bo, you was born a Duke, you're gonna be runnin' from cops anyway," Luke replied with a smirk.

"Enos done said he was gonna be a cop when he grew up," Becky said innocently.

Luke raised his eyebrow, "How'd ya hear that?"

"He was talkin' to Daisy, tryin' to make her fall in love with him," Becky rolled her eyes, "I don't understand what the big deal about kissin' and holdin' hands is."

"You'll understand someday, sis," Nathan replied, "Enos's goin' to the wrong side."

"I know what you mean - he's practically goin' against everything his daddy's ever done. Everyone in town knows Elrod Strate runs 'shine like mine and Bo's daddy did," Luke replied with a sigh, "but then again, Enos wasn't never that smart, anyway."

Nathan and Luke went over to tease Enos and Daisy for a little while, leaving Bo and Becky alone again.

"Hey, if they're right when they say he ain't that smart, won't we be able to get away from him pretty fast?" Becky asked eagerly.

"Maybe - I don't know 'bout Sherriff Coltrane, though. Remember how he caught us snatching those candies?" Bo asked.

"Yeah - but we were on bikes! Plus I'm never doin' that again - I got a whippin' fer it," Becky rubbed her backside with the memory.

"Me too," Bo replied, "and it ain't that often that Uncle Jessie gives whippin's."

Becky looked over to Enos, Daisy, Luke, and Nathan for a moment before scrunching her nose up, "You know, I dunno what the big deal about love and kissin' and all that junk is."

"Me neither," Bo replied, going back to his mini car chase and only half listening to her.

Becky looked over Bo a minute, watching him drive his cars around before she suddenly had an idea, "Let me kiss you, Bo."

Bo's eyes widened as he looked back up at his best friend, "Let you WHAT?"

Becky rolled her own eyes and looked back at Bo impatiently, "Let me kiss you, you oaf!"

"Why?"

"To prove that there ain't no big deal in it."

"Okay, but not where they can see us."

"Deal."

So the two ten year olds went to the barn, feigning going to see the kittens, when really Becky was about to conduct her experiment.

Becky settled down on her knees in the hay while Bo nervously sat in front of her, every few minutes watching the ladder entrance to the loft. The occasional kitten mewing and pawing at their knees went unnoticed as they finally settled.

"Okay, close your eyes," Becky said.

When she commanded him to do this, he clamped his eyes shut as tight as he could.

"No no no! Not like that! Like you was sleepin' or somethin'!" Becky huffed.

"Oh, like this?" Bo asked, his eyes relaxing.

"Yeah, just like that. Ready? One, two, three," Becky's lips came in contact with Bo's in a very short kiss.

Bo opened his eyes and blinked, staring at Becky who was staring back at him for a long moment. Suddenly, her eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened.

"Well? Was it any big deal to you?" she asked almost impatiently.

Bo shook his head a little, blinking one more time and nodding up at Becky, "It's just a kiss - nothin' special."

Becky grinned, "See! Older kids are so dumb..." she muttered as she went back down the barn loft ladder, Bo following close behind.

Nathan and Luke were sitting on the front poorch just watching the birds and squirrels play in the yard, tossing a baseball absently back and forth when they noticed Bo and Becky going back to play with their cars.

Luke chuckled, "Ever since I've seen those two first play together, the one thing I've noticed is how Bo tends to follow and immitate Becky."

"I know what you mean - it's really weird," Nathan replied, "maybe it's a sign of things to come."

Luke laughed, "Whatcha mean by that?"

"I dunno, maybe someday she's gonna have a buncha boys followin' her around like Bo does. Maybe even Bo himself."

"Yeah, but they won't wanna just play with matchbox cars - Bo might..."

"She wouldn't let 'em anyway," Nathan laughed, "she popped one guy in the nose the other day with her book because he was tryin' to peek up the dress she wore to parents' day."

Luke laughed a hearty laugh, "Bo told me about that!"

Nathan sighed, "She's one weird kid. She's more like a little brother than a little sister. Do you know how weird that IS?"

"Daisy used to be like that, but somethin' this year changed her," Luke replied, "maybe the same thing'll happen to Becky."

"I kinda don't want it to, sometimes; I always get her to dig up my worms for fishin and she don't fuss, but if she goes girly, she will," Nathan replied.

"Hey! No fair, you ran me off the road! Learn how to drive right, you scumbag!" Becky shouted at Bo and his car from the distance.

Nathan and Luke couldn't help but laugh when they heard her.

"I don't think Becky'll ever change," Luke said with a grin, "she has too much fun pushin' Bo around!"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks, punkmonkey, for leaving me a review! And thanks to anyone who's reading who hasn't reviewed as well, all is appreciated. I've got it worked out in my head where I want this to go, although I might do something a little different than planned every now and then. Anywho, just remember to let me know how I'm doing every now and then, and until next time, enjoy:)

CHAPTER THREE

SPRING, 1972

Mrs. Emily Grant noticed twelve year old Becky barely picking at the breakfast on her plate and knew automatically that something was wrong. Nathan had already went upstairs to change his clothes for the day and her husband had gone in to work at five thirty.

"Becky? What's the matter, you not feelin' good?"

"I'm fine, Mom," Becky replied, her expression not changing as she propped her head on her hand.

Emily sat in a chair diagonal from her daughter and tried to look into her face, "Are you sure? You're actin' like you're sick." She felt her daughter's forehead and didn't find a temperature, "Hmm, you don't seem to have a fever..."

"I'm just a little tired is all," Becky replied, giving her mother a small, reassuring smile.

"Alright, well if you get to feeling worse in school, remember to call me and I'll come get you," Emily said as the sound of Nathan running down the stairs sounded throughout the house.

"Come on, Beck, the bus'll be here any minute!" he said, sprinting out the door.

So Becky grabbed her books and stuffed her money in her pocket, then ran outside to join her brother. It was a dully, grey morning out with no sunshine at all. The dewey grass collected on her shoes as she ran down to the end of the driveway and out to the road where the bus stop was. Soon joining them were Bo, Daisy, and Luke, barely making it out to the stop in time for the bus to pick them up.

Becky had shot up in the past couple of years, as did Bo, but she was almost an entire inch taller than he was. Her hair had grown longer and her legs had seemed to as well. Luke and Nathan were already getting much taller than the others, and their voices were starting to change. Daisy had done some growing of hers as well, and every time Becky saw her, she really didn't know whether to be envious or grateful.

"What's up, Becky?" Bo asked from his seat next to her.

"Nothin', why?"

"'Cause you're not sayin' nothin'," Bo replied.

"She ain't been sayin' nothin' all morning," Nathan said as he turned around and looked at them, Luke following his motion, "I was beginnin' to wonder if she was mute or somethin'."

"Oh, shut up, Nathan," she muttered, crossing her arms and staring out the window. But Bo prodding her shoulder caused her to look at him.

Daisy caught a glimpse of Becky and sympathy filled her eyes. She knew exactly what was going on, but wasn't sure how to approach.

He grinned a mile wide, "Check out one of Luke's car magazines he let me have!"

Becky grinned as well, "Ooh, awesome!"

So they looked at the magazine all the way to Hazzard County Junior High where they had to get off and go to the place they dreaded most of all, for many different reasons, school.

Becky's day had gone pretty well for the most part, but then the end of the day neared and as she was walking across the courtyard, the same old familiar taunting filled her ears.

"Hey, boobless!" an obnoxious-sounding boy's voice echoed in her ear. "Where's your boobs at, Beee-ckyyy?"

Becky rolled her eyes in annoyance and impatience as the people he was with giggled and he continued. So she just started to walk faster, determined to get away from the sounds.

"Aww, did I make the widdle baby cwy? Aww, widdle Becky's still a baa-byy, she can't GET her boobs yet!"

At this point, a few more people were laughing, including a few girls, so she rounded the final corner and walked through the door, then through another that led straight out into the parking lot.

Bo, who just happened to be walking down the hall at this time, saw Becky walk in and out and ran to try and catch up with her.

"Becky?" he called, but she didn't hear him. From outside in the courtyard, he could hear mighty howling laughter than made him cock his head in confusion, but he didn't hesitate to bust out the same door she had just went out. "Becky, wait up!"

Becky turned around in surprise to find her best friend following her, "What're you doin' out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same - hey Becky, are you okay? You look like you're about to cry or somethin'..."

"I'm fine," she growled under her breath, then looked over at him, "I'm goin' home."

"Home? But won't you get in trouble?"

"Haha, that's funny coming from you, Bo Duke."

"No, really; you don't wanna get your hide tanned would ya?"

"Not really, but unless my parents never find out, I'll be just fine," Becky replied defiantly, stalking off.

Bo hesitated for a moment before following her, "Wait up! I'll come with you!"

"No, Bo, if I DO get in trouble, you will too! I don't want Uncle Jessie tannin' your hide as well!" Becky pleaded with her friend.

Bo shook his head, "Sorry, you've already allowed me into the situation; if I turn around and walk back in that bulding, I'll have not done my duty as your best friend," he said, trying to make the mood light, "besides, my next class ain't got much goin' on, anyway."

She remembered that it was a sort-of autobody class, "But you love that class!"

He shrugged, "It don't matter, I already know it, anyway," he grinned.

Becky couldn't help but laugh as they continued away from the school, the negative feelings she had just left behind fading away already.

Bo knew that something had been bothering his best friend for a long time, but he couldn't ever figure it out or catch anything going on. She'd always told him what was bothering her before, but she hadn't told him a single detail as to what had been bugging her that year so far, and that bothered him. He liked being able to help her out, because lord knew she had helped him out a lot as well.

He recalled a time back in fourth grade when the big bully Billy Ray Simon had taken his lunch money for the third time in a week; anyone around them knew that the Dukes weren't wealthy, but it wasn't even of concern to the bully. But after he had quietly told her about it on the playground, she got up from her sitting spot, her head held high and her shoulders squared and walked straight up to him. She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

He turned around and looked down at her from his mere one inch taller height and sneered, "Yeah, whadda ya want?"  
"I want you to give Bo's money back."

He laughed in her face, as did his friends who were standing behind him like a typical fifth-grade-posse, "That's really funny, really; now go away."

She stood her ground, "Did you not hear me, you igit! I SAID - give his money back NOW!"

"And who do you think you are?" he asked, pushing her back just a little.

"We ain't supposed'ta hit girls!" one of his crew said from behind him.

"I ain't gonna hit her... just give her a friendly NUDGE!" he then shoved her to the ground and he and his friends laughed at her expense.

Bo had had enough and came stalking their way from the see-saw, but not before Becky shot up and planted her fist firmly into his nose. By now, someone had gone to get the teacher and Bo came up just in time to fly-tackle and prevent another one of Billy Ray's friends from shoving her again. Another one of his friends, however, came in and pried Bo off, punching him in the gut.

A teacher then came out and broke it all up, sending every single one of them to the principal's office where their parents and guardians had been called.

Jessie Duke, Emily Grant, Jill Simon, Wanda Weaver, and Carol Heatherly all showed up ten minutes later, each having their own looks of anger, disappointment, and concern.

"Them Dukes never were anything but trouble!" Wanda Weaver shook her finger at Bo as she cradled her son's head to her, "Starting fights and causing trouble... And that Grant girl! Mercy, no proper young lady acts this way!"

"Now you listen here, Mrs. Weaver, I don't know WHY Bo 'n Becky chose to fight today, but they're not bad kids! I'm sure they had plenty-a good reason to!" Jessie snapped on the woman for insulting his nephew.

"I did, sir, Billy Ray was pushin' Becky around!" Bo said frantically to his uncle, sporting a black eye.

Uncle Jessie saw in his nephew's eyes that he told the truth, but he only nodded, "Tell your principal when he calls you in, son, and tell the truth no matter what it is."

"Becky, what in the world posessed you to get into a FIGHT?" Emily fussed at her daughter with annoyance and worry.

"Because, Mama, Billy's been stealin' Bo's lunch money!" Becky replied, "I didn't wanna fight, I asked for the money back, HE's the one that started it."

In the end, the principal heard out everyone's stories, made sure the boys knew never to shove a girl around ever again (which also got them tugged home by their ears by their mothers), and also for the kids to tell a teacher when something was wrong rather than trying to handle it themselves.

Mr. Anderson knew that Becky was a very protective, rough and tumble girl, and explained that she didn't need to fight on school grounds unless it was a matter of self defense. He wasn't going to let her get beat up, nor any of his other students. He pointed out that it was very noble of her to ask for the money and not start a fight, but at the same time pointed out that that was what teachers were for.

As Bo's mind came back from his walk down memory lane, he looked over at Becky, who seemed so much less and less like herself anymore. She was much quieter and kept to herself a lot more. When they came upon the creek, Bo settled down on a rock across from her and leaned forward, looking straight into her face.

"Becky, what's been goin' on here lately? Nothin's ever bothered you this bad in school except for a bad grade," Becky looked up to see concern in Bo's magnetic blue eyes as he asked her this.

"I don't wanna talk about this, Bo; I came here to get it off my mind..." Becky trailed.

"But it always comes back every day! You're not yourself anymore, Beck; you're all quiet and locked up to yourself. You ain't been to the farm in ages!" Bo exclaimed, "Look... it seems like you ain't gonna talk to me about this any way I go, you ain't any other time I've asked you, but at least talk to someone. Nathan, your mom, Uncle Jessie, Luke, anyone."

"It's somethin' I don't wanna talk about, though," Becky sighed, "I know I'll have to sometime, but it's too... embarassing..."

Bo merely nodded, not even thinking about what it could've been, "Well, that's up to you; in the meantime, though, I wanna have my best friend back, even if it's just for a little while today - okay?"

He held out his hand to her; Becky looked at his hand and at him thoughtfully for a moment. He was the only one who seemed to care about how she felt; no one else ever really pointed out her behavior, nor had they went so far as to give her advice, even if he didn't know anything about what was going on in her mind. She smiled as she remembered what he had said the first time he ever helped her out of a scrape: "Best friends are always there for eachother - no matter what."

So she shook his hand with the first genuine smile she had had in a long time, "Deal."

Luke and Nathan got on the school bus to ride home that evening and noticed Bo and Becky were nowhere in sight.

"They're usually on before we are," Luke observed, looking truly concerned.

"Aww, maybe they're just a little behind today - surely they'll be on by the time the bus is ready to leave," Nathan tried to calm his friend down.

Daisy walked up onto the bus right at that moment and Luke turned to her, "Hey, you seen Bo 'n Becky anywhere?"

"No, I ain't seen 'em since lunch," Daisy replied, then realized why he asked, "it's not like them to not be on time for the bus... Maybe they walked home?"

Luke and Nathan's heartbeats calmed a bit when Daisy said this, "You're probably right," Nathan said, trying to convince himself as well as Luke.

Out in the woods, Bo and Becky were still walking around trying to kill some time before the bus came through and they would have to figure out a way to get in without anyone being suspicious. Bo decided they should lay low for awhile after the bus had come through that way they would think that they had just walked home.

Soon as they heard the bus coming down the old dirt road toward the Duke and Grant households, they ran further into the woods so as not to be seen. When the bus had gone safely past, Becky noticed how dirty she and Bo were.

"Oh no..."

"What is it, Becky?" he asked.

"Bo, look at us! We're filthy! They'll NEVER believe that we walked home from school!"

"Who says we would've come straight home?"

"You know how my mom gets when I play outside in my school clothes! Man, this is just great. That's what I get for trusting your plans..."

"Hey!"

"Well, it's true!"

"My plans ain't all that bad..."

"What about the time you had this great plan to run away with the carnival?"  
"I was eight years old! How was I to know hiding in the ferris wheel's trailer wouldn't work?"

Becky merely huffed and started walking toward home.

"Becky, wait up!"

At home, Luke and Nathan were beginning to grow more worried; Emily and John (her husband) had gone into town to buy groceries, and Jessie had gone to get some supplies for the farm, leaving a note asking Daisy to get supper started somewhere around five thirty.

"Shouldn't they have been home by now?" Luke asked impatiently, pacing back and forth across the front poorch.

"Luke, it would take them a little longer to get home than it would us, they're on foot," Nathan replied.

"Well yeah, but that bus had to make four or five other stops IN TOWN before it got here," Luke pointed out.

Nathan sighed in defeat, "Yeah, you're right, let's go look for -"

But before he could finish his sentence, Bo came ambling up to the house.

"Bo! Where the heck have you an' Becky been! And why are you so dirty!" Luke asked, sounding absolutely furious.

"And where IS Becky?" Nathan added.

"She went on home; she ignored me most of the way here," Bo replied, "we walked through the woods..."

Luke could see that this wasn't the whole story, but he didn't say anything in front of Nathan, "Come on inside, get cleaned up and get those clothes ready for Daisy to wash - if Uncle Jessie'd been home, he wouldda had a fit!"

"I'm gonna go on home and check on Becky," Nathan said as he got up and stretched, "give her a piece of my mind for havin' me worried to death..."

"Alright, see ya 'round, man," Luke replied as he and Bo went into the house.

The moment the door was shut, Luke wheeled around to Bo with conviction in his eyes.

"Bo, I know it don't take that long to get here straight from school on foot," he said, boring into his cousin's eyes with his own, "I've done it before. And I KNOW you don't get that dirty just walkin' through the woods. An' Daisy said she didn't see you two any after lunch, and that wasn't right because she usually sees you an' Becky RIGHT BEFORE the last class of the day. So, what's your REAL story? I'm sure Uncle Jessie would love to hear it."

"No, Luke, I'd get a whippin' like there was no tomorrow if he found out!"

Luke's eyes softened a little, "So I'm assuming right when I assume that you and Becky BOTH cut class?"

Bo nodded, "Yeah..."

"Why, Bo? What if you'd been caught by Sherrif Coltrane! You would've HAD to deal with Uncle Jessie then!"

Daisy had come through from her room to get supper started when she heard Bo and Luke talking, so she went on into the kitchen so as not to interrupt.

"I know it was wrong, Luke, but Becky was about to walk off all by herself! If she'd been caught by Sherrif Coltrane, she would've had to deal with her mom and dad! I didn't want her to get in trouble, or at least if she did it wouldn'tve been all alone and I couldda taken the blame!"

Luke understood that Bo and Becky were very close, but this was just the wrong situation, "Then why didn't you talk her into going back in?"

"Because she was about to cry! Luke, somethin' is botherin' her and she wouldn't talk to me about it, and she wasn't about to go back inside! Besides, it was either go with her or go back inside knowing about it and gettin' her in trouble," Bo replied.

Luke sighed, rubbing his hand over his eyes as he looked back at Bo, "What d'you think's so wrong with her that she couldn't tell you?"

"I dunno - all she said was that it was embarassing," Bo answered with a little relief in his voice.

Luke pondered that for a minute, then looked back to his cousin, "You ain't ever saw anything goin' on with her?"

Bo shook his head, "We've all just about seen the same thing."

Luke nodded, "Alright, well go on upstairs and change, get cleaned up and all that."

"You ain't gonna tell Uncle Jessie?"

"Naw, I won't tell Uncle Jessie - we just gotta make sure this don't go happenin' again."

"Thanks, Luke!"

He ran upstairs just in time for the phone to ring. Luke picked up to find that Nathan was on the other line. He let Luke know that Becky had gone to sleep and that he would make up for her share of chores, which Luke agreed was a good idea seeing as her problems she kept having were in school. Then Luke went in the kitchen to talk to Daisy.

Daisy was working on supper, rolling out some biscuits while something was frying in the skillet. He came up beside her and asked, "Hey, whacha makin'?"

"You'll see," Daisy replied, continuing her work, slapping Luke's hand as he tried to dip his finger in the gravy.

He was quiet for a minute before he asked, "Say, d'you have any idea about what might be buggin' Becky? Whatever it is, it caused her to skip class today and Bo went with her."

Daisy looked up at him and said sincerely, "I think so; I've seen and heard a couple of things here and there."

"Well how come you ain't said nothin' before?"

"'Cause no one ever asked," Daisy replied quietly, stirring the gravy, "and I wasn't sure how to approach Becky, either."

"What is it, you think?" Luke asked, clearly as concerned as anyone.

"It's embarassing to her, Luke, that's why it's so hard to talk about," Daisy replied, "and I'm not about to go tellin' you what I THINK it might be because that'd just embarass her more."

Luke held his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright, I understand. Well look, Bo 'n I're gonna go do what chores are left, maybe help Nathan out with some of the ones he's gotta do, too."

With that, Luke was gone and Bo wasn't too far behind. Daisy continued cooking and thought about Becky, wondering exactly how she might help her out with the subject. Daisy had gone through puberty without a mother to go to, and at that particular time it had hurt. She couldn't ask her mother why she didn't have her 'assets' yet, or what other things were. Luke had noticed her change in behavior, and being the natural caretaker he was, he would keep asking her what was bothering her and why she wasn't acting like she used to. She ended up learning what she needed to know from some friends of hers at a sleep-over, but she still wished she had had someone older that she could've trusted. And although she knew that Becky had a mother that would be able to explain what she needed and wanted to know at that moment, she found that most girls didn't talk to their mothers out of fear or embarassment.

She sighed, wiping her hands on her apron. She then thought of an idea; granted that the things she was hearing were true, she planned out a course of action and planned on clueing the boys in on it later.

"Hey, Luke?" Bo asked as they fed the chickens.

"Yeah, Bo?"

"Why do you think she won't talk to me about what's goin' on?"

"Who, Becky? Well because, Bo... it's girl-stuff."

"You mean like Daisy's goin' through? Well, why didn't she just tell me?"

"Well, when it comes to times like these, neither boys or girls talk to eachother about it."

"'Long as she don't change or nothin', it's fine with me."

"Oh, I doubt she's gonna change at all. Alright, you done with your half of the chores?"

"Yeah."

"Well, let's go help Nathan with his an' Becky's; Becky passed out on the couch an' he's tryin' to help do hers so she won't get in trouble."

"Alright."

The next afternoon, Daisy noticed Becky was about to go through the courtyard and hurriedly caught up with her.

"Becky! Becky, wait up!"

Becky internally groaned as Daisy came up and started walking with her; she would hear everyone making fun of her in the courtyard!

"Hey, Daisy."

Daisy smiled at her, "Figured I'd walk to class with you before Enos found me."

"Okay."

"What's wrong, sugar?"

"Nothin'..." Becky replied, but before she knew it, they were in the courtyard.

And as usual, there was that whispering echo in her ear, "Hey, it's Boobless Becky!"

Of course, his friends started chuckling the minute he said this.

Daisy peeked around at him, wearing a look as sweet as apple pie, "Hey, sugar," she said just as sweetly.

He and his friends backed up, all sharing a goofy grin, being given attention by one of the prettiest girls in their entire school, "Well hey, Daisy..."

She smirked, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking into his dumbfounded eyes, "What're you gainin' by makin' fun of Becky, hm? If you don't like what she ain't got, how 'bout findin' someone who does and stay with them?" she purred, oozing with her irresistable personality and sweetness.

"Oh, I think I already have..." he replied, taking hold of her by the waist and not letting go. Becky was about to jump in and get ahold of him for her, but something in Daisy's attitude let her know not to.

She didn't struggle, "Mitts off, mister; otherwise you've got somethin' comin' you ain't gonna like..." she purred again, positioning her knee very close to his groin.

"Oh really? An' what's that, darlin'?"

"That'd be us," a voice growled from behind her.

He let Daisy go and his whole posse stared up in what was almost fear; Luke, Nathan, and Bo stood behind the two girls, waiting for someone to mess with them just once. Nathan stepped up and got ahold of him by the collar and lifted him up to his eyelevel.

"I ever hear of you messin' with my sister again, you're gonna be about as useful as chopped liver," he growled, then dropped the boy just as the principal came out.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked severely.

"No, sir," Nathan replied with a smirk, "I think everything's alright here; whadda you think, guys?" he aimed this questions at the bullies.

They merely nodded as they walked away, seeming almost like a bunch of puppies with their tails tucked.

The principal walked off and the Duke and Grant children laughed, but Becky seemed almost embarassed. Daisy noticed and stepped into action again, "Well fellas, I think Becky 'n I are gonna head on for class; see ya after school!"

When they were far enough away from the boys, Becky looked at Daisy and asked, "How'd you know?"

Daisy smiled, "Well, honey, you're my friend, how'm I NOT gonna know when somethin's botherin' you? Look, I know what you're goin' through, and believe it or not, I've been there, too. If you ever wanna talk, I'll be around."

Becky nodded, but then timidly wondered, "Can I come over this evening?"

Daisy smiled again, linking arms with her down the hallway, "Sure, sugar. That's what friends are for!"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks, jduke and IlovethemDukeboys (aka Jordyn) for reviewing, I really appreciated it, guys. :) Anywho, here's the fourth chapter, enjoy!

CHAPTER FOUR

SUMMER, ENTERING FALL 1973

Thirteen year old Bo whooped and hollered as he rode shotgun in Luke's first car; Luke had just gotten his license not too long before and had been working odd jobs around town to earn the money to get his own car. He had bought it from a young shadetree mechanic called Cooter Davenport whom he'd met in his freshman year of high school before Cooter quit going into his junior year. He and Cooter found that they had a common love for cars, and although Cooter was noticeably wilder and crazier than Luke, they formed a friendship. Soon after, Nathan met him as well and they seemed to be hanging out on a daily basis.

At the beginning of the summer, though, Bo was bummed out and moping a lot because Becky had to go to her grandmother and aunt Nancy's in Atlanta for the summer. Emily had felt that it would be best for her to go there for a little while; she had nothing against the Duke boys, but she thought it best that Becky spend some time away from Bo. After all, they'd seemed joined at the hip ever since they'd met.

Luke knew that his best friend not being a walk away would be hard on Bo for awhile, but he figured when he got his license, they could go riding around Hazzard and hang out with Nathan and Cooter at his apartment above Old Man Helton's garage where he was an apprentice, of sorts.

Old Man Helton was the owner of Hazzard Garage and had no one to leave the business to, so when Cooter came along interested in helping out, he seemed to have adopted him as a grandson or something. He was the only man that Cooter showed much respect for at all, which was saying a lot considering how Cooter was.

The summer with the guys had seemed to help Bo out a lot, for he enjoyed going out riding with his cousin and "Crazy" Cooter Davenport. But at the same time, he wished that Becky could have been there to enjoy it all with him, and he knew that she would have. She would have truly felt like an outlaw the one time that Sherrif Rosco Coltrane tried to trap them in some phony speed trap and they outran him.

Enos had started following the Sherrif everywhere that he went, wanting to really become a man of the law. But Rosco had changed a lot since they were all kids. He had become a bit more hateful and scheming since he didn't get his pension, which meant that Enos had really become a pain in his rear, but he never took the Sherrif's word seriously enough to turn him off of wanting his career in Law Enforcement.

After all day of driving, Luke pulled them up into the front yard, doing a donut before completely stopping. They climbed out of the car and not but two seconds later heard happy cries.

"Bo! Luke!"

The two boys looked up to find a tall, slender brunette running toward them; it took them a moment to realize who it was, for she didn't look quite the same as they had remembered her. Luke had to put Bo's slack jaw back in place to snap him out of the look he'd gotten.

"Becky!" Bo called back as she ran up to them.

She jumped happily into his outstretched arms for a seemingly never-ending hug, he spinning her around just a little and picking her feet up off the ground. He put her down and had his arms around her for a moment too long, but she didn't notice, she was too happy to be home to notice anything, especially the stares Bo was giving her and the look she was getting from Luke as Nathan came up from behind.

"Ooh, it's so good to SEE you guys!" she squealed, going over to Luke and hugging him around the neck next.

Luke chuckled as he hugged her back, "Welcome home, Becky; how'd this summer treat ya?"

She pulled back from his hug long enough to roll her eyes, "Well I admit, it was nice seein' Aunt Nancy and Grammy again, but other than that, it was plum boring... Daisy!"

Daisy had come running out of the house when she saw that Becky was home and the two girls hugged, Daisy absolutely gushing over her.

"Oh sugar, you look lovely! You're even wearin' makeup, look at you!"

It was true, the summer had been good to her in more ways than one, although she wasn't really thinking about that. Her jeans and shirts were nicely filling out, and her aunt Nancy had insisted in putting some makeup on her to see how it looked. She was amazed when she looked in the mirror and saw how pretty she could actually be. Of course she didn't go as overboard with silly things like blush and eyeshadow like her aunt did, so she just stuck with basic eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss.

She blushed, "I really look okay?"

"Sure you do, honey!" Daisy then turned her back to the guys, "Fellas, doesn't she look good?"

Bo and Luke looked over her way; Luke smiled and, seemingly in behalf of himself and Bo, replied, "She looks fine, Daisy," with almost a slight blush at being asked such a question about her, although she did look very pretty.

Jessie then came out to see what all the fuss was about, but then saw Becky standing with Daisy, "Well, hello there, Becky!"

"Uncle Jessie!" she exclaimed affectionately, running up to him and letting him envelope her in a bear hug.

When she pulled away, he got a good look at her, "Well lookie what we got here; our Becky's becomin' a young lady!"

She only blushed and smiled a little; she didn't want to be thought of as a precious doll, she just wanted to be Becky.

After talking to Daisy, Jessie, Nathan, and Luke for a little bit, she and Bo were left alone to talk amongst themselves.

They walked over to the old tire swing and Becky settled down in it; Bo settled down on the ground in front of her. She took a deep breath and sighed in contentment, "It's so good to be back home again... you really have no idea how much I missed you guys all summer."

Bo looked up at her, "What all did you do in capitol city?"

"Not much of anything, really. Aunt Nancy took me shopping and tried to get me to buy a dress or somethin', but I didn't want a dress," Becky rolled her eyes, "it took awhile to finally convince her that a pair of jeans and a nice shirt would be nice. And a pair of boots," she grinned as she pulled slightly up on one of her pant legs to show a pair of boots she didn't have before.

Bo laughed at some of the stories she told about her aunt and grandmother. And when she talked about how bored she had been most of the time, he couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"So, what'd you an' Luke do all summer? I notice he's drivin' now," Becky observed.

Bo got up and pushed her in the swing as he started telling her the many tales of himself, Luke, Nathan, and the newest member to their enteurage, Cooter. How they would go driving up and down the old dirt roads, play games of hide and seek with their cars in the old junkyard, and about their first time running from the law.

It had been a day like most others of their summer so far; Bo, Nathan, and Luke had driven over to Cooter's to get him and go driving on the backroads. But soon as they got on one of the backroads and got Luke's tires making miniature dust clouds, Sherrif Rosco Coltrane pulled out of nowhere with his sirens and lights on, chasing Luke down and intending to give him a ticket.

"Uh oh, we got ol' Rosco on us," Cooter, dressed in tattered jeans, a sleeveless shirt, and an old, oily, beat-up ballcap piped up from the back seat.

"I ain't even doin' 35, what's his problem?" Luke wondered aloud, about to pull over, but Cooter's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You crazy, man, you ain't doin' nothin' wrong! Lose the ol' geezer!" Cooter hooted with laughter.

"What! But we gotta pull over, Cooter!" Nathan protested.

"Not when y'ain't done nothin' wrong! Now put the pedal to the metal and give him a REAL reason to chase ya!" Cooter laughed insanely once again. Bo then understood exactly why he was called "Crazy" Cooter.

So Luke stepped on the gas and intended to lose Sherrif Coltrane; but what he didn't realize was that straight ahead was a two-foot dropoff and a few foot wide stream leading through the creek. So when he came up on it too fast to react, he knew he would just have to wing it. With the speed he had been going, though, he found they easily jumped the stream, which of course Rosco didn't, and the chase ended then and there.

Cooter hooted from the back and laughed, and Bo looked up to his older cousin even more than he ever had before.

"Luke, that was boss!" Nathan remarked.

"Of course! He's a Duke!" Cooter howled.

Bo whooped and "yeehawed" as Luke sat back, listening to the others and blushing; he had discovered he could do that on accident. This made him wonder what exactly else he could do in a car. He intended to find out someday.

When Bo finished telling Becky all about it, she had stopped swinging by now and just let her feet dangle above the ground. He grinned at her when he saw the look of total envy on her face.

"Dang it, Bo, you 'n Luke's done outlaws now," she said with a good-natured smile, but then grinned even wider, "that's okay, when WE start drivin', we can pull our OWN stunts and do our OWN shuckin' an' jivin'."

Bo laughed, "Sounds like a plan to me!"

They shook on it and Becky climbed out of the tire swing and stood up to meet Bo's height of 5'5 with her own height of 5'2, "Let's see if you got any faster this summer..." she then thumped him on the shoulder and he took off after her.

"You're on!"


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

SPRING, 1974

BOOM!

Thunder echoed for miles throughout Hazzard County when a sudden storm hit seemingly out of nowhere. Luke had been outside tinkering with his car when the first few splatters of rain had hit his head. He had an important decision to make and working on his car had been making it easier to think about, but all the thunder showers they had been getting lately were really putting a damper on his thinking.

In the meantime, Becky and Bo had been out riding the four wheeler that Nathan had let them borrow for the day. He'd gotten it for an early eighteenth birthday present and loved riding it, but also found that his little sister had grown quite fond of it as well. He taught her how to drive it and any time she had a chance, she and Bo, or she and Daisy sometimes, would take it out for a spin.

Nathan had been out on the Dukes' front poorch talking to Daisy when it started up. He had had her giggling over something right before the thunder rolled and the rain started splattering, which caused her to laughingly squeal and take off into the house.

So when the storm hit, everyone ran into the Duke house from their various directions. Jessie was of course not surprised in the least; the Grant children had been spending lots of time in his house since he could remember, and he wouldn't have ever had it any other way.

"Whoo! Boy it's comin' a gulley-washer out there, Uncle Jessie," Luke remarked, shaking his hair out a little bit.

"You don't say..." Jessie went to look out the window and shook his head, "this year's already turnin' out bad, what with all this rain, how're we gonna have a decent garden?"

"Maybe the rain'll slack up some before summer time gets here," Bo put in helpfully.

"Maybe so... but usually when it's this rainy already in the spring, summer's not gonna be much better," Jessie replied, then looked to each of the Grant children, "well, looks like y'all are stuck here for a little while, eh?"

"Nearest place we could run to, Uncle Jessie," Becky replied truthfully.

He chuckled, "You're right, you're right."

So everyone ended up going up to the boys' room to hang out; Luke, Bo, and Nathan looked at the latest car magazine, while Daisy and Becky worked on Becky's latest model car she'd brought over earlier to put together with Bo.

"Dang, these are harder than the ones Luke used to put together!" Daisy remarked about the car.

"What's that?" Luke looked up at the mention of his name.

Daisy held up some parts to the car, "These ol' cars they're makin' now, I swear the ones you used to make weren't so hard to put together!"

Luke chuckled, "You'd know, Dais; you never left my cars alone!"

"Hey, I just wanted to play with 'em, too!" Daisy pouted playfully as they reminisced to themselves.

"When was this?" Bo asked, clearly not remembering.

"Oh, this was before you came to the farm, Bo," Luke replied, getting a wistful look in his eye as he remembered, "Daisy couldn't ever keep outta nothin', especially my stuff. She insisted that she was big enough to play with my big boy cars..."

Seven year old Daisy had peeked around the corner to make sure Luke was nowhere around; then, her eyes lit up as she dashed into his room and stood in front of Luke's model cars. She liked how they shown in the light and loved to imagine just how fast they could go.

But then Luke, rolling his eyes with his arms crossed, marched over to Daisy and stared down at her with narrowed eyes, "Daisy, what're you doin' in here?"

Daisy would've normally cowered under that stare, but she just stood up on her tip-toes and stared right back into his eyes as she replied, "I'm lookin', 's'that a crime or somethin'?"

"Daisy, I told you not to bother my cars!"

"I ain't bothered your cars, I only wanted to look!"

"Yeah right, I believe that about as much as I believe Uncle Jessie's stories about playin' chicken with a mountain lion!"

Pretty soon, the squabbling had reached the ears of old Aunt Eliza, who came through and places a hand on each of the childrens' shoulders.

"Kids, what's goin' on here?" she asked calmly.

"Daisy's botherin' my cars again!" Luke replied.

"I wasn't! I only wanted to look!" Daisy argued.

"Alright, alright, come with me, Daisy, help me fix dinner," Eliza said gently, but with a pinch of firmness.

"But I don't wanna, Aunt 'Liza!"

"Daisy Mae..."

Daisy sighed in defeat, "Yes ma'am..."

Eliza knew that Luke was still hurting from losing his mother at such a young age, and also knew that having little Daisy tagging along everywhere he went and tending to get into his stuff didn't help the situation much. She would do her best to keep Daisy occupied, but found out fast that no matter what she was doing, she wanted to do whatever Luke was doing.

But this time, she had an idea; of course she would have to talk to Jessie and see what they could do...

The next day, Jessie brought home a box wrapped in brown paper and smiled when he saw Daisy's pretty, curious blue eyes looking up at him, "Daisy, got a surprise for ya, honey."

"For me?" Daisy's eyes absolutely shown at getting a surprise of her very own.

Luke and Eliza then came into the room, Luke curious and Eliza smiling to her husband as Daisy opened the package. Her smile brightened and her eyes danced as she saw what was inside; her very own model car to put together!

"Oh, thank you, Uncle Jessie!" she exlaimed, jumping up and down excitedly and into his arms, giving him a hug and kiss.

"You're welcome, honey, but you might wanna thank your Aunt Eliza, too, it was her idea," Jessie replied with a smile.

She hugged and kissed her aunt in thanks as well, then showed it to Luke, "See, Luke? I got me one of my very own!"

Luke went into a pouty-like phase, "Yeah, I see," he replied huffily.

But then he stomped off and wasn't seen for most of the rest of the evening. Jessie and Eliza knew he was wondering why he hadn't gotten a new model car instead of his little girl cousin. But they knew that she sincerely liked his, and felt that she deserved to have at least one of her own.

Luke was still pouting later when he heard a knock on his door, "Yes," he said in a low voice.

Daisy came into the room, her hair neatly brushed by Eliza and dressed in her nightgown, "Luke?"

"What d'ya want?"

Daisy hesitated a moment before asking, but she knew she wanted to, "Would you like to help me put it together?" she asked, holding out the box.

Luke looked back at her to see if she was joking, but saw that her face was serious, "Did Uncle Jessie or Aunt Eliza put you up to it?"

She shook her head, "No, I wanted to do it!"

Luke blinked in amazement, but then smiled, "Alright... let's start on it first thing tomorrow morning."

"Goody!" she threw her little arms around her cousin's neck and kissed his cheek, "'Night, Luke, I love you!"

Luke, in typical little boy fashion, wiped the kiss off with the back of his hand, "Yeah, sure, 'night, love you, too."

And with that, Daisy ran off to her room.

"Awww," Bo and Becky chorused at the same time, then burst into giggles.

"Say Dais, you never told me why you asked me to help you with that," Luke said with a questioning look.

"Well, because I had no clue how, for one thing..." Daisy blushed as she admitted that, "and I felt bad; I didn't want to do the same thing you had done to me, to you."

Luke smiled, "There's never been a mean bone in your body, Daisy Duke."

She just smiled in return, playing with the hem of her shirt.

A couple of days later, Bo had gone into town with Uncle Jessie and Daisy; Luke had decided to stay home and work on his car some more, until Cooter stopped by and talked for a few minutes before going on his way. Then a little while later, Becky walked over.

"Heya, Luke," she said, coming up and leaning against the opposite side of the car that he was working on.

"Hey, Beck," he replied, looking up briefly. "What'cha into?"

"Oh, not much; Bo gone?"

"Yeah, went into town with Uncle Jessie and Daisy."

She watched him for a minute, admiring the view of his muscles she was able to get with his shirt off. A small smile spread over her face at the secret she kept in the back of her mind that no one else knew about, not even Bo.

She'd discovered over the past few months that she though Luke was physically attractive and couldn't get that off of her mind, which bothered her some because she wasn't really all that interested in boys until... well, until Luke had started becoming more gorgeous than she'd ever remembered him being.

He sensed her watching him and looked up; she tried to erase the look she had had on her face when he caught her eye and smiled, "Bored, eh?"

"Yeah, some," she replied, then kicked the dirt, "whacha workin' on?"

"Just tunin' it up some, I've pretty much got anything that I need done to it done; wanna help?" he asked, knowing that she would.

"That was a stupid question!"

Luke couldn't help but laugh as she trotted over to his side of the car, waiting for instructions. She was almost like Bo, only in a female's body, and when Bo, Nathan, or Cooter wasn't around, he found it was interesting to talk to her, especially about cars - that's when she reminded him so much of Bo. She couldn't tell you what the latest gossip in her high school was for anything, but could tell you just about anything about an engine. He shook his head with a crooked grin as she got one of his tools for him. Man had Bo ruined a pretty girl for life!

Becky's heart soared as she helped Luke with the car; it was times like these when they were just talking and cutting up that made the butterflies in her stomach begin fluttering about. Sometimes, she couldn't understand why he would never get annoyed with her the way her own brother sometimes did, or like Luke used to do when he and Daisy were little. But she tried not to think about it too much, just settle back and enjoy the feeling while she had it.

"Oh hey, Beck, can you go over there 'n get me my cantine? I think we both need some water," he asked.

"Sure!" she replied, making her way into the barn behind them. She was just about to reach down to get it when a very foreign sound stopped her dead in her tracks.

She slowly raised her lower body back into place and looked tentatively around, and her suspicions were correct when she saw a long, dark object curled up only a few feet away from her.

Luke was beginning to wonder what was taking her so long and called out, "Hey, it's right there in plain view, I know you can't miss it!"

But when she didn't reply, he knew something was wrong. He looked back into the barn to find her standing stone still, her gaze on something on the ground a way aways from her. He looked and his mouth dropped open, his eyes wide as he realized it was a rattlesnake, coiled up and ready to strike.

"Oh god..." he muttered, trying to figure out what to do, only for a moment being mentally paralyzed before he came to his senses and ran inside to grab Jessie's shotgun hanging on the gunrack in his room. 'Becky, just stay calm and stay still,' he was saying to himself as he hurriedly loaded the gun and ran back outside to the barn. "Becky... don't move," he said lowly, aiming the gun, not wanting her to panick and he accidentally hit her.

He heard her moan lightly in response as he made sure his aim was correct, then shot. It just barely hit the snake, who now seemed madder than before. He knew for Becky's sake that he had to shoot it in the head. Easier said than done...

"Alright... let's try this again," he whispered to himself, lining up his shot and praying that it would make it this time.

He pulled the trigger and this time, he saw the snake's head explode and its body started wriggling, which Becky heard and he could hear her whimpering.

"It's okay, Becky, come on," he said, she being only too happy to. She came and stood by his side as he lowered the gun, sighing, "You alright, Beck?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, her voice sounding a little shaky, but then she looked up at him, "are YOU alright?"

He nodded, loosening his grip on the gun and rubbing the top of her head with his palm, "'Course I'm alright."

Becky knew that he had been scared to death, even when he had the gun in his hands and was ready to shoot. He wasn't scared for himself, though, he was scared for her. He was a hero that day, at least in her eyes if to no one else. Without thinking, she wrapped her slender arms around his waist.

He was used to her hugging him, but never quite in serious moments like this, so it had taken him a second to return the hug. But then she broke away from it, seeming a little ashamed that she had suddenly done that. He pretended he didn't see the awkwardness and cleared his throat, "Well, I'm gonna go unload the gun and put it away."

"Okay, I guess I'll head on home for now," Becky replied.

Luke nodded, "Alright, tell Nathan to come on by later with you when Bo gets home or something."

"'Kay... see ya... and thanks."

"I wouldda done it any time, Becky; see ya 'round."


End file.
